Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
08SAOPAULO149
2008-03-20 12:55:00
UNCLASSIFIED
Consulate Sao Paulo
Cable title:
MEDIA REACTION: IRAQ: FIFTH ANNIVERSARY OF THE U.S.
how-toVZCZCXYZ0011 OO RUEHWEB DE RUEHSO #0149 0801255 ZNR UUUUU ZZH O 201255Z MAR 08 ZDK FM AMCONSUL SAO PAULO TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 8077 INFO RHEHNSC/NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL WASHDC IMMEDIATE RUEHBR/AMEMBASSY BRASILIA PRIORITY 9211 RUEHRI/AMCONSUL RIO DE JANEIRO PRIORITY 8658 RUCPDOC/USDOC WASHDC 3056
UNCLAS SAO PAULO 000149
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
STATE INR/R/MR; IIP/R/MR; WHA/PD
DEPT PASS USTR
USDOC 4322/MAC/OLAC/JAFEE
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: KMDR OPRC OIIP ETRD BR
SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION: IRAQ: FIFTH ANNIVERSARY OF THE U.S.
INVASION; SAO PAULO
UNCLAS SAO PAULO 000149
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
STATE INR/R/MR; IIP/R/MR; WHA/PD
DEPT PASS USTR
USDOC 4322/MAC/OLAC/JAFEE
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: KMDR OPRC OIIP ETRD BR
SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION: IRAQ: FIFTH ANNIVERSARY OF THE U.S.
INVASION; SAO PAULO
1. "The Costs Of The Adventure"
Liberal, largest national circulation daily Folha de S. Paulo
editorialized (3/20): "The US invasion in Iraq was a humanitarian
catastrophe and a political fiasco that placed the Pentagon in a
situation without prospect of solution. It has also been a
financial disaster.... The bill totals today USD 600 billion and
continues to increase. According to Nobel Prize winner Joseph
Stiglitz, the adventure may cost USD 4 trillion or more, depending
on how long the occupation lasts.... The bill has helped the
dollar's increasing devaluation, and this has made it difficult to
fight the credit crisis in the US in addition to worsening its
global consequences. Nothing indicates that the next US president,
regardless of who he/she may be, will have a means to end the
adventure. Barack Obama suggested that he might withdraw the troops
by 2009. This is of course the best scenario. The problem is that
in Iraq the best scenario never comes true."
2. "Five Years Later, The US Has Nothing To Celebrate"
Business-oriented Valor Economico editorialized (3/20): "Iraq was
easy to occupy, but has become a hell to remain in, as the 4,000
deaths and 30,000 injured among US troops show. The US has so far
spent USD 500 billion in Iraq - the equivalent to one year of
[Brazilian] GDP.... Stability means the end of violence, but it is
far from happening.... Iraq is far from patterns of normalcy, even
when considering the unstable Middle East. Bush's policy was
rejected around the world and even by the Americans. The US
presidential elections may change ways to reach peace in Iraq.
Militarily, however, it is very unlikely that the US troops will
leave that nation if Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton, who suggested
a withdrawal in the short run, is elected. But it is certain that
the US's presence in Iraq will be extended for many years more if
the winner is John McCain. Bush's policy in Iraq was a bloody sample
of the unilateral strategy dictated by the neoconservatives. His
idea of transforming Iraq into a democratic showcase aimed at
initiating changes towards that direction throughout the Middle East
was an insane authoritarian farce."
White
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
STATE INR/R/MR; IIP/R/MR; WHA/PD
DEPT PASS USTR
USDOC 4322/MAC/OLAC/JAFEE
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: KMDR OPRC OIIP ETRD BR
SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION: IRAQ: FIFTH ANNIVERSARY OF THE U.S.
INVASION; SAO PAULO
1. "The Costs Of The Adventure"
Liberal, largest national circulation daily Folha de S. Paulo
editorialized (3/20): "The US invasion in Iraq was a humanitarian
catastrophe and a political fiasco that placed the Pentagon in a
situation without prospect of solution. It has also been a
financial disaster.... The bill totals today USD 600 billion and
continues to increase. According to Nobel Prize winner Joseph
Stiglitz, the adventure may cost USD 4 trillion or more, depending
on how long the occupation lasts.... The bill has helped the
dollar's increasing devaluation, and this has made it difficult to
fight the credit crisis in the US in addition to worsening its
global consequences. Nothing indicates that the next US president,
regardless of who he/she may be, will have a means to end the
adventure. Barack Obama suggested that he might withdraw the troops
by 2009. This is of course the best scenario. The problem is that
in Iraq the best scenario never comes true."
2. "Five Years Later, The US Has Nothing To Celebrate"
Business-oriented Valor Economico editorialized (3/20): "Iraq was
easy to occupy, but has become a hell to remain in, as the 4,000
deaths and 30,000 injured among US troops show. The US has so far
spent USD 500 billion in Iraq - the equivalent to one year of
[Brazilian] GDP.... Stability means the end of violence, but it is
far from happening.... Iraq is far from patterns of normalcy, even
when considering the unstable Middle East. Bush's policy was
rejected around the world and even by the Americans. The US
presidential elections may change ways to reach peace in Iraq.
Militarily, however, it is very unlikely that the US troops will
leave that nation if Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton, who suggested
a withdrawal in the short run, is elected. But it is certain that
the US's presence in Iraq will be extended for many years more if
the winner is John McCain. Bush's policy in Iraq was a bloody sample
of the unilateral strategy dictated by the neoconservatives. His
idea of transforming Iraq into a democratic showcase aimed at
initiating changes towards that direction throughout the Middle East
was an insane authoritarian farce."
White